He told the Daily Mail: "Obviously Lionel Messi's had a fabulous season with Barcelona and he'll be one a lot of people will be looking for to be top man at the tournament.

"But I'd go for a little dark horse who didn't play much at the back end of last season but is now fit again and that's Robin van Persie. I think he's a fabulous footballer and if he fires he could be the tournament's top scorer."